Downward Facing Blog

No, I’m not going to start eating meat. In fact, I’m more in-love with being vegetarian than ever. That however, is for another post.

The sacred cow is a thread I’m on lately about questioning religion. Spirituality should be taught like gym class, or mathmatics. Why not? Isn’t it common parlance to say mind, body, soul? Sometimes you’re aware of your body, sometimes the mind, and other times the emotions. Then there is samadhi, mental dissolution to pure awareness of the consciousness which illuminates  all beings. It’s like learning self-management. Learn how to take care of the body, the mind, how to have harmonious relationships, and connect with your spirit. Does this require Sanskrit or Latin? Whoops. Maybe I’ll get flamed here.  Lemmie say that I’ve studied the foundations. I still found that I truly made the teachings of yoga mine through English. Well, that and practice.

If ritual helps you, use it, but as a technique. If religion helps you, then use it… but it’s just a technique. Why should I deify someone or some path when someone in Kenya speaking Swahili has just as much access to higher consciousness as my friends in Kunming china do. Language is simply an abstraction and representation of experience. Experience is really coded inside the five sense and then we give words to it. No matter the language, it is divorced from the actual reality by several steps.  Yes yes, I know what THEY say about Sanskrit being holy, having a clearer link, an energetic representation of the reality etc. Still though, if I call it; sat-chid-anand, Shiva, God, consciousness, or words in chinese or Thai… the point is that the language needs to communicate. I’ve made much greater strides in teaching once I could link ideas using multiple analogies and terms in a variety of languages. Previously I believed the hype and set the bar that someone needs to understand Sanskrit to set out on the path. Blah. (Forgive me if I change my mind  later )

I spent part of my life in a born-again Christian boys home. As today, I was a mystically inclined, almost religious personality and always wanted to discuss God and religion. I think at that time I was praying nightly to the devil but no matter. I’ll never forget discussions I had with the staff about Christianity and “being saved”. (if you don’t know, being saved means becoming a Christian so you don’t burn in hell for all eternity LOL)

I asked, “what about all the billion people in China who’s never HEARD of Jesus? How do THEY become saved?” He said, “oh they’ll KNOW! Somehow, they know that they need to accept Jesus!” It’s like they completely deny it within the HUMAN experience to realize God. That it must be a cultural artifact. It must be OUR way. Blah. This is what I am questioning within any higher potential system, including yoga. All I can suggest to my students is, people have found that the techniques of yoga (such as the 8 limbs) increase the likelihood that one attains realization. Still though, look in and find your teacher within. God is within. The guru is within.

On that note, my ironic sense of humor kind of enjoys this picture. If hulk can do lotus you can too!  X